Cedric Ceballos is one of the most fascinating athletes profiled on “Dusting Off The Old Sports Almanac” thus far. I take that back, every athlete profiled here is incredibly fascinating. Ceballos might be the most unconventional of them all though.

You probably remember Cedric Ceballos as that sweet small forward on the Lakers who could dunk like none other. Ceballos consistently averaged around 17 points per game while grabbing around 7 rebounds each contest. Very respectable numbers that made Ceballos a great supplement to any team. From a team standpoint, Ceballos’ greatest achievement came in the 1992-1993 season when he led the league in field goal percentage completing 57.6% of his shots. However, Ceballos might best be remembered for his 1992 victory in the Slam Dunk Contest over the NBA All-Star Weekend. Ceballos sealed the deal with a remarkable blindfolded slam dunk (watch the clip of it here).

Much like Kerry Kittles, Ceballos’ legacy will be of a solid role player who was able to rise to the occasion when called upon.

What makes Ceballos such an interesting figure though is his post NBA career. Between 2002-2004 Ceballos played with professional teams in Israel, Russia, and the Phillipines. Upon the conclusion of his adventures around the world, Ceballos became employed by his former team, the Phoenix Suns, as the in-arena emcee and host of a weekly webcast entitled “Nothin’ But Net.” Ceballos’ enthusiasm for public address continued as he hosted a morning music program at a Phoenix R&B radio station.

The fun doesn’t stop there though. Ceballos teamed up with hip hop star Warren G in 1994 on a track entitled “Flow On” and in perhaps an even sicker collaboration teamed up with hip hop stars Grand Puba, Sadat X, AG, Diamond D, and fellow NBA player Dana Barros on a track called “Ya Don’t Stop.” Check out Ceballos’ music debut on the track “Flow On” below.

As you can see for yourself, Ceballos might rival the Dos Equis guy as the most interesting man in the world. Ceballos is currently a part owner and player of the Arizona Scorpions ABA franchise. Ceballos has been listed as inactive though because of a recent heart attack. Mr. Ceballos, we here at “Dusting Off The Old Sports Almanac” wish you a speedy recovery and hope you continue to shine as our most interesting man in the world.

Make sure to visit again tomorrow as we highlight former Chicago Bears wide receiver David Terrell.

Something many Cubs fans may have taken advantage of is the consistent play and production of Aramis Ramirez ever since he came over from the Pirates along with Kenny Lofton in the 2003 season. Prior to that, it was a long running joke/sad truth that the Cubs did not employ a respectable third baseman since Ron Santo retired. That’s a period from 1974-2003 (don’t be alarmed non-Cubs fans, we’re used to prolonged periods of mediocrity).

Which brings me to my next subject in the “Dusting Off The Old Sports Alamanac” series, Kevin Orie. Orie by no means was supposed to supplant Cubs legend Ron Santo as the next great Cubs third baseman. However, Orie’s rookie season offered Cubs fans a glimmer of hope.

After being selected with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 1993 MLB draft, Orie took his time reaching the major leagues making his official debut on April 1, 1997. Orie hit a respectable .275 his rookie year with 8 home runs and 44 RBI’s in 114 games played. At the end of the season, Orie received 11 votes as Rookie of the Year but ended up losing out to Scott Rolen, a wise choice in the long run.

Coming into the 1998 season with increased expectations, Orie did nothing but disappoint. Orie’s start to the season was slower than molasses sliding down a frying pan on a hot Georgia Sunday. After hitting .181 in his first 64 games with the Cubs, he was traded to Florida for fellow disappointment Felix Heredia. Just like that, Orie’s reputation as a major league caliber player began to dwindle. He spent the entire 1999 season with the Marlins hitting .254 with 6 homers and 29 RBI’s. After the conclusion of the season Orie was released and surprisingly sustained his presence in professional baseball for the ensuing seven seasons bouncing around minor league clubs of various organizations. Orie hung up the cleats in 2006 after the first game of the year with Houston’s Triple A affiliate Round Rock.

Much like fellow athlete Kerry Kittles, Orie currently finds himself happily employed in the professional world. Kevin Orie is now an associate specializing in retail with real estate management firm Grubb Ellis in Pittsburgh.

Orie will go down most famously as botching Kerry Wood’s chance for a no hitter in his infamous 20 strikeout game against the Astros by letting a Ricky Gutierrez single go off of his glove as the only hit of the game.

Make sure to check back again tomorrow when we have a special guest contribution dusting off the profile of current NBA forward Brian Scalabrine.

I have to clear two things up before getting into the magic of riding the L train. First of all I’m not writing this on the train so loyal followers of my Train Blogging series will see a more polished and clean cut article. Second of all, I blog a lot about public transportation. To get a better feel of where my attitudes lie regarding public transportation guidelines read this post.

Today’s installment of the Tran Blogging series surrounds the thought-processes that go through my mind while riding the train and what I perceive (just or unjust) to be going through the minds of my fellow passengers. In the recent weeks I have been reading a fantastic biography of Albert Einstein written by the famous Walter Isaacson. Einstein himself has a life interesting enough to fulfill the next month’s worth of blog posts. The book is also part of the reason why I have not made a Train Blogging post in quite some time.

Oddly enough I find the rickety clanking noise of the train to be the most comforting environment to read in. While reading the Einstein book I find it humorous that I am able to completely tune out the outside world and become completely encapsulated with this book. I have to give Isaacson much credit for that because his writing style is so clear and imaginative that it is difficult to put the book down. This also speaks on greater volumes about what the period of riding the CTA represents in my day.

My time spent on the train is a period where I’m left alone with my thoughts. This is really one of the only period of time during the day that I can experience this. I don’t want to give off the misconception that I am completely entailed in work and activity the entire day, but as I’m sure you can agree with there aren’t many moments during the day when you can just sit back and think. Reading the Einstein book is definitely intellectually stimulating and I find myself setting the book down at times to try and comprehend what his thought process is like (disclaimer: this is often a useless tactic as trying to understand Einstein’s thought process let alone is physics is seemingly a full time occupation). Point being though that Einstein’s theories and lifestyle often inspires my own thoughts and perceptions regarding different facets of life and the life that he lived.

Even if I spend the train ride listening to music or staring out into the city as we pass through different neighborhoods, I find myself encompassed in thoughts of reflection of the days work, a current issue, philosophy, or why the lady in the black pea coat sitting across from me looks so grumpy. Maybe it’s just her natural facial expression and I am being completely misguided, but that’s the beauty of the CTA. It really stimulates your imagination looking at other passengers on the train and trying to figure out what’s going on with them. Like I said earlier, whether just or unjust it is fun to imagine why someone looks grumpy while the person next to them has a jubilant smile on their face.

While there are many times I get frustrated at the CTA (again read this post to find out why) but I do have to give it credit. It is one of the only times during the day where you can tune the outside world out. I think that’s a healthy thing. It gives you time to recuperate and digest your thoughts. In this world we live in where everything is instant and can be published without much review, it’s good to be able to sit back and take life in. Call it a throwback, but it seems we as a society don’t take much time to sit back and digest information or what’s going on around us. Maybe that’s why some people on the Purple Line Express in the morning look so rushed and frazzled.

Remember the scene in Back to the Future II where Marty McFly purchases a sports almanac detailing the results of every single professional and collegiate game up until the year 2000? In case you haven’t seen it, watch this clip and you should be caught up to speed.

The goal of this segment is somewhat the opposite of that. Instead of using a sports almanac from the future for my own financial gain (shame on you Biff!), instead consider this a blast from the past revisiting some of the more forgotten athletes that didn’t exactly have their names up in lights or their faces on the covers of faux sports almanac’s in Hollywood feature films.

Today we will start off with former NBA shooting guard Kerry Kittles. Drafted with the eighth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, Kittles had high expectations after an outstanding collegiate career with Villanova.

Kerry Kittles Amped Up

For his first two professiona seasons Kittles provided solid offensive play by averaging 16.4 and 17.2 points per game while playing around 36 minutes per game. Kittles saw his numbers decline during the following years, however after the turn of the millennium the Nets became a force to reckon with. Kittles along with Jason Kidd formed a deadly back court for the Nets who reached the NBA finals in both the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons.

Although the Nets lost both series, it marked the first time the team had ever reached the finals as a member of the NBA. Kittles played a key supporting role on these Nets teams and after his retirement in 2005 left his mark as a solid role player who did not disappoint despite his high draft status.

What does a life after basketball contain for a player like Kerry Kittles? Glad you asked. During his time at Villanova he obtained a degree in Business Management and earned his MBA from Villanova’s School of Business as well. Kittles has made great use of his degree and is currently an associate at Ledgemont Capital Group.
Kerry Kittles, we salute you on being the first athlete dusted off in the old sports almanac. Make sure to check back here tomorrow as we profile former Chicago Cubs third baseman Kevin Orie.